The romantic, fantasy drama TV series ‘A Discovery of Witches’ has just returned to our screens for season three and those with a keen eye watching the weekly episodes on Sky Max will have spotted that one of the locations is Aberglasney Gardens in Carmarthenshire.
The series, produced by production company, Bad Wolf, is based upon the best-selling novels by Deborah Harkness which portrays a mysterious world that humans share with the declining species of witches, vampires and demons.
Diana Bishop, an Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont are caught up in a supernatural battle over an enchanted manuscript. Their journey takes them through time and to locations across the world – but many were actually right here in Wales.
Gareth Skelding, Location Manager for Season one and two of A Discovery of Witches, said,
“The medieval Aberglasney House and Gardens in Carmarthenshire boasts one of the finest gardens in Wales, part of which served as the gardens for Sept-Tours, the fictional family home of the de Clermont family. It’s a really versatile location for a set which I have also used to shoot scenes for Da Vinci’s Demons. Sept-Tours features in seasons two and three as well as season one and it was great to come back. Gardens, little temples and cloisters from Aberglasney all make an appearance. It’s a sweet little place, the people are amazing.”
The eight-episode first series of A Discovery of Witches was aired on Sky One in 2018. The ten-episode second series was released in its entirety in January 2021 and aired weekly on Sky One. The third and final series was initially released in its entirety on 7 January 2022 and airs weekly on Sky Max.
Aberglasney Gardens’ Head Gardener, Joseph Atkin said,
“We were delighted to have been chosen as a location for the series. The filming has taken place at Aberglasney over the last few years and those familiar with the Gardens will certainly recognise the piggeries lawn, the Pool Garden and the lower Cloister area when watching the drama unfold.”
Aberglasney was made famous by the BBC television series “A Garden Lost in Time” which followed its restoration. The Gardens, Mansion house, Shop and Tearooms are open every day except Christmas Day. Visitors can explore 10 acres of over 20 different garden styles from formal to woodland, right through to exotic and modern along with the fully restored ground floor of Aberglasney’s grade II* listed mansion. Further information on the Gardens is available online: www.aberglasney.org
